Cost of living

[terminatorchiangmai]

In Chiang Mai you can rent a nice 3 bedroom house for 10 - 15 k per month.

Or a one bedroom apartment for 5 k per month

50.000 per month would give you a relaxed life style.

Not forget you need medical insurance for around 20.000 per year and 800.000 in Thai bank account for extension of your retirement visa.

 

Good luck,

Edited May 11, 2017 by terminatorchiangmai

[bazza73]

13 hours ago, Sandman77 said:

It depend where you stay north or South
15k condo or more ! If you eat only thai street food 3 time daily also Aprox ,10000 for European food double !
If you always stay at home not going out many time I would say 40k should be enough one month ! Car or public taxi not include! If you spend more on food in good restaurants I would say 1500 baht a day it depends how you live , we have to need more about your daily lifestyle !
If you live in isaan you can stay for 10k when you have a house there !
Food in Chiang Mai I pay 500 baht eat soup menu salad desert drinks in pattaya double ! If you want save and good value go to Chiang Mai , but I can tell you the smoke is sometime terrib le there !


Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect

Buy an air purifier, 10K to 15K baht.

[The Deerhunter]

 

Read the book "Why not to retire in Thailand" by "The Blether."  I read it and I still retired here but at least it is the short way to learn all the potential pitfalls, loud and clear. It is on Amazon and Kindle. Rule No 1.  Rent don't buy for at least the first few years, If ever!!!  There are so many things that can go wrong for a falang property owner.

[paddyfield7]

A question of "smoke" was mentioned. This mostly applies in the North, and is a combination of fog in the cooler season and real smoke when farmers burn down their fields illegaly. But this "winter" it wasn't bad at all, just a few days which were a bit misty. In other years, it may happen that the first flights into Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai cannot land due to low visibility. This usually clears up at least a bit during the day. Outside these maybe 2 months, the air is perfect in CNX, in particular when you compare it with BKK or any major city in China. For me no reason to worry or complain.

[bazza73]

3 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Sort of like asking 'how long is a piece of string'  we all have different expenses, I for one am a 'geographical bachelor' six months a year - kind of goes like this in BKK

 

Rent:   25,000

lights/water:  3,000

Food:  approx 500 baht a day eating out, but I eat Thai and street food - say 15-20,000 a month

Bars/Ladies, tips takes up a good chunk, I'd say 25,000 a month

Internet/Cell - 2500 a month, but have long distance expenses on top.

Train/Taxi's/Motocy - 2000 more.

Gym cost is 300 baht a day, massages 3 times a week another 

easily 100,000 baht a month, but I don't skimp

soon moving to Jom Tien so expect it to be cheaper.

75k per month; however, too old to be spending on bars/ladies so that would explain the difference.

Rent 8500 baht a month, studio condo in CM with pool. Electricity/water/internet 2000 baht/month.

IMHO the OP will find CM a lot cheaper than Bangkok.

[khunPer]

OP perspectiff, it's like a rubber band and totally depending of your life-style. You can live from next-to-nothing, and up to spending daily what many of us forumers think is a fortune. The official estimate for annual extension of stay, i.e. 800,000 baht or 65,000 baht a month, is not that way out for a "normal" (if that exist) life-style; and from that you can add or subtract. Some live here for 30,000 baht or even less a month, others spend more than 100,000.

 

My budget, living together with a Thai girlfriend and our daughter, attending an EP-school, is close to 900,000 a year; of which school fees and extras takes some 150,000 baht. Have a paid for house and car, but I'm living on an island that can be slightly more expensive than mainland; and also living in a tourist destination can cost little more than in a rural area. Travelling abroad, and any investments, or other extras, are not included in the budget.

 

Thailand is not as cheap (anymore), as it appears in some books stating that you can "live for pennies"; however you'll probably have a better life-style here in LoS than you can have for equivalent money in your home country (depending from where you come). But you'll need some minimum income/saving, to make the dream come through, as living in LoS on too little money is not fun at all; however you can often live for less than at home.

 

In my horizon, a minimum need for decent life-style is:

10,000 to 15,000 bath/month for rent (bungalow/flat/house)

10,000 to 15,000 baht/month for food and daily various needs (1 person, i.e. 300-500 baht a day)

2,000 to 5,000 baht/month for health insurance (i.e. aprox. 20,000 to 60,000 baht a year)

3,000 to 5,000 baht/month for transportation

5,000 to 10,000 baht/month as minimum for other things (entertainment, outings, etc.)

Totaling from 30,000 baht/month to 50,000 baht/month

 

On top of that you'll need access to some cash at any time in case of some emergency – i.e. often called "Rainy Day Account" – which again is relative to what's possible; but I'll say minimum 100,000 baht, preferably more.

 

Wish you good luck with your plan...

[akirasan]

2 hours ago, grumbleweed said:

Really? How exactly?

 

It depends what you're good at.  

For instance, maybe you are good at building websites, or you can draw (logos or graphic design), write articles, write music, edit videos, maybe you know all about SEO or are great with photoshop...there is a tonne of work online that anyone can put their skills to.. even if you aren't great with computers just the fact that you can speak english means you can start writing articles... and there are several websites that will connect you with clients.  

If you (or anyone) wants more specific details just PM me and I'm happy to help out.  I'm not selling anything and it's no scam.  You don't need to buy anything or lay out any money to get started.  

Edited May 11, 2017 by akirasan

[perspectiff]

1 hour ago, akirasan said:

It depends what you're good at.  

For instance, maybe you are good at building websites, or you can draw (logos or graphic design), write articles, write music, edit videos, maybe you know all about SEO or are great with photoshop...there is a tonne of work online that anyone can put their skills to.. even if you aren't great with computers just the fact that you can speak english means you can start writing articles... and there are several websites that will connect you with clients.  

If you (or anyone) wants more specific details just PM me and I'm happy to help out.  I'm not selling anything and it's no scam.  

Thats comforting to hear. I actually do copy writing quite a bit and polishing up on my photoshop skills at the moment. Will have plans to further myself in getting SEO certified in the future too. Perhaps it will come to use in time.

[Formaleins]

12 hours ago, perspectiff said:

Hey thanks for the response. Isn't 55k rental a little too steep? What sort of accomodation do you reside in? I'm looking at something closer to 10-12k a month.

55K! Probably renting the entire Amari Boulevard! Ridiculous rent. You can rent a nice place for a fraction of that.

[Retiredandhappyhere]

6 hours ago, perspectiff said:

Thanks everyone for your generous inputs. I understand the amount is dependent on your choice of lifestyle. Im just curious how most local Thai's are able to survive on an average wage of 30k, 

Im not too concerned about healthcare since I will likely retain citizenship with my native country since im only a couple of hours flight from home and retain its healthcare benefits. I will probably get a travel insurance just in case though.

 

It seems on average most of you are spending 60k a month, that works out to around 1700 USD. To be honest it's way more than I had expected. Looks like I will need to plan ahead to generate more passive income or operate some form of business while living there.

I am too old to purchase healthcare but I agree that otherwise around 60K baht per month is about right for me and my Thai wife.

We have a small house in a gated community near Hua Hin and run a car but have no rent to pay and no loans to service. However it is surprising how car running costs, house maintenance, food and occasional meals out, house insurance, monthly termite contract,, TV/internet/phone costs, foreign income tax, electricity/water, air-con mainteneance, even minor medical treatments,  all  mount up to a substantial amount. Clearly, if your income comes from abroad, the exchange rate can be another material factor.

 

 

[ableguy]

If you are going to retire here you must be fifty years old or above, you will also need a proven income of 65,000 the per month or 800,000 in a Thai bank account, seems to me you have not taken this into your planning.

[reenatinnakor]

Like most people have said it depends what sort of lifestyle you want and where you want to live. In the city for an average lifestyle renting a 2 bed unit or house then your single person fixed costs are:

Rent 20k
Electric 3k
Internet 1k
Phone 1k
Water 300
Tescos/Big C/FMart 5k
Eating drinking out 5k
Travel 2k
Sundries 2k
If you have a partner then add another 20k

Variable Costs:
Kids normal school 3k
Car payment 10k
Bike payment 2k
Clothes and stuff 2k

So that's about 45k to 80k depending on how you want to live. Thailand is not that cheap anymore but still cheap compared to Singapore, HK, KL and Tokyo. I've lived all around Asia and Thailand is the cheapest, apart from Manila, but I wouldn't wish Manila onto my worst enemy, it's a bit of a shit hole.

Good luck!










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[Guy360]

First, moving to a new country is similar to starting and owning your own business.  The biggest failures are being under-capitalized.   You should have at least 1 - 2 years of living expenses set aside in addition to the savings or retirement income you intend to live on.  

 

Shit happens.  Unexpected expenses such as medical, emergency travel, family, accidents, returning home, etc.  You must have a cushion.

How about money for vacations, purchase car or motorbike, going out with friends, massages, bar bills and the like.

 

I own my own condo in Jomtien.  I budget 100,000 baht per month for living expenses.  This includes two trips back to the USA per year plus 1 or 2 vacations per year outside of Thailand.   I moved to Thailand to live a good lifestyle rather than just exist.   You can exist anywhere but is that really living?

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, reenatinnakor said:

Rent 20k

Your being ripped off you could a mortgage and pay less than that.

[reenatinnakor]

12 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Your being ripped off you could a mortgage and pay less than that.

 

This is what I'm paying in Pattaya for a decent size 2 bedroom with all furniture and fittings in a gated estate. In BKK I was paying the same for a modern 2 bed apartment a few stops from Siam.

 

I'm assuming the OP that's about to retire doesn't want to slum it in a new country right away.

[Kwasaki]

12 minutes ago, reenatinnakor said:

 

This is what I'm paying in Pattaya for a decent size 2 bedroom with all furniture and fittings in a gated estate. In BKK I was paying the same for a modern 2 bed apartment a few stops from Siam.

 

I'm assuming the OP that's about to retire doesn't want to slum it in a new country right away.

Yeah no disrespect but that's still a very high rent, my Swedish friend rents a house in Pattaya  pays no where near that.

But as they say  " up to you."  

Edited May 11, 2017 by Kwasaki

[Guy1]

Nice to see a fellow singaporean posting here in thaivisa forum.

 

I lived in Bkk for almost 10 years. I have my own business here, makes about 100-200k profit per month

 

My expenses:

Rent: 8000 (western style condo) better than HDB flat

Food: 500 x 30= 15000 per mth

Hp bill: 1200

Water: 300

Electrcity: 2000

Transport: 3500 approx

Other expenses: 10-15k

 The rest of the money i saved up.

Depends on your life style, the savings and lower expenses, ease of doing business, non-restrictive life is something i cant get back in singapore

[reenatinnakor]

12 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah no disrespect but that's still a very high rent, my Swedish friend rents a house in Pattaya  pays no where near that.

But as they say  " up to you."  

 

I'm right off one of the main roads ....not on the dark side and 10km away from everything! Off course there is cheaper, I've seen some for 10k but they are townhouses right on the main road and very old....only Thai's live in those. I did nearly rent a new house for 15k, very nice, just finished building, but the nearest shop is a 5 minute bike ride. If you want convenience, security and near amenities then 20k is a good ballpark figure.  

[fordguy61mi]

8 hours ago, al007 said:

Im just curious how most local Thai's are able to survive on an average wage of 30k,    Well as you say survive, they have very different needs

 

Remember there are many choices other than Thailand, originally on my list was Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and many Caribbean islands

My girl survives on 20,000 baht per month from her restaurant job. She has her own room she rents for 7,000 baht and eats mostly street food. I will be taking her away from that meager existence very soon.

[Kwasaki]

Whow !!    here's a different situation.

Rent 20 k..............  built my 3 bedroom house for 980,000 baht so rent free.
Electric 3 k............ 2 air-cons and etc. etc  average month  1000.
Internet 1 k............Internet + free mobile + home phone + TV stations  1100.
Phone 1k......N/a
Water 300......on average 150.
Tescos/Big C/FMart 5k..... dunno wife does the shopping.
Eating drinking out 5k......just drinking per month for me.
Travel 2k........n/a  just local stuff about a 1000 + a bit petrol.
Sundries 2k......what is this exactly.
If you have a partner then add another 20k....Nah !!  my Mrs works. 

Variable Costs:
Kids normal school  3 k.....We support a nephew yeah a but less but not far off. 
Car payment 10 k......Cars and bikes paid for so only service costs per year.
Bike payment 2k.......as above.
Clothes and stuff 2k......only occasionally for the Mrs maybe say every 3 months.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Kwasaki

[reenatinnakor]

Whow !! [emoji3] here's a different situation.
Rent 20 k..............  built my 3 bedroom house for 980,000 baht so rent free.
Electric 3 k............ 2 air-cons and etc. etc  average month  1000.
Internet 1 k............Internet + free mobile + home phone + TV stations  1100.
Phone 1k......N/a
Water 300......on average 150.
Tescos/Big C/FMart 5k..... dunno wife does the shopping.
Eating drinking out 5k......just drinking per month for me.
Travel 2k........n/a  just local stuff about a 1000 + a bit petrol.
Sundries 2k......what is this exactly.
If you have a partner then add another 20k....Nah !!  my Mrs works. 

Variable Costs:
Kids normal school  3 k.....We support a nephew yeah a but less but not far off. 
Car payment 10 k......Cars and bikes paid for so only service costs per year.
Bike payment 2k.......as above.
Clothes and stuff 2k......only occasionally for the Mrs maybe say every 3 months.

Where do you live? A 3 bed house built for 1m must mean you live in the villages! Not a bad thing. But the OP is a retiree from the West, he's not going to slum it in a village!

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[realenglish1]

I get by on  60 K a month all expenses with a car (paid for )

[rickudon]

Unless you live like a hermit not all that cheap. I can live in the UK by myself for 12,000 baht a month NOT including housing. I'm retired so get some benefits such as free prescriptions, free bus travel. So i don't squander money. I THOUGHT i would be able to live on 30,000 baht a month when i came to live in Thailand, but never managed it. I live in an Isaan city, have a wife and a daughter. Per month, our food/household shopping bill is about 12,000 baht, outstanding mortgage on house 3,000 baht, water and electric 2000 baht, phone and internet about 1500 baht, insurances about 3000 baht (not medical), car running costs about 3,000 baht a month (just school runs, shopping etc.) That is around 25,000 baht a month. Add on that car and motorbike  cost us 10,000 baht a month on HP (but will be paid up soon). School costs us about 30,000 baht a year (state aided selective entry school,  not basic). Then immigration stuff as well (but average less than a 1,000 a month for me). But basically i spend average of 40,000 baht a month on all this, but holidays, repairs and replacements and medical (if required) are on top.

 

Also, as someone else said, you need capital to start with, buying a house, transport, furnishing, white goods. If you rent, need to consider that. A NICE single room will cost you at least 3,000 baht, a modest house could be 10,000 plus even in the North-east.

 

Also health insurance isn't cheap once you are 65 plus, that will be 8,000 baht a month or more and goes up every couple of years. Could skip it, but would be nice to have.

 

So, i would say if married, 30,000 baht a absolute minimum; if you own house and transport. If renting and buying transport, 40-50,000 baht a month. Plus medical, 60,000 baht. After this you can afford to enjoy yourself a little ....... I doubt i will ever really get much past that point, still topping up from savings at present.

 

With annuity rates falling fast, and defined benefit pensions a thing of the past for the young, retiring to Thailand will be  much less likely in 20 years time. A nice dream, but have a plan B..........

 

 

Finally, having a little business is a nice idea, but not easy. If you compete with Thais, don't expect to make more than peanuts - more likely you will run at a loss. Online Ok if you can make it work.

Edited May 11, 2017 by rickudon
adding info

[Los Luver]

You know, Thailand is cheap if you want it to be !!!

Otherwise, it might be expensive !!

I was staying once in serviced apart. Sometimes, I made my own dinner in my suite. I used to buy Lamb meet, imported from Australia at BigC. Well, I used to pay 400 baht, just for the meet, if I'm alone.....Cheese is expensive too. Once I paid 500 baht just for a small peace, I think it was Parmesan!!!... I always pay like 200 Baht for Brie....the cheapest peace costs like 150 Baht.....

Thailand is extremely cheap if you think about street food.

[perspectiff]

4 hours ago, reenatinnakor said:

 

Where do you live? A 3 bed house built for 1m must mean you live in the villages! Not a bad thing. But the OP is a retiree from the West, he's not going to slum it in a village!

Sent from my LG-H990 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

Thanks for your concern reenatinnakor but just to clarify im not at retiring age yet and not from the west either. far from it in fact! (Though I hold my hand up in apology for not stating myself clearly in the first place)

Im in my early 30s born and bred in Singapore. As mentioned in my previous post, my country does not provide any form of pension or elderly care from the govt hence I decided to find out way in advance the amount in which I would need in order for me to retire (eventually) to my preferred destination.

Cheers! 

[perspectiff]

9 hours ago, vsigrist said:

A question of "smoke" was mentioned. This mostly applies in the North, and is a combination of fog in the cooler season and real smoke when farmers burn down their fields illegaly. But this "winter" it wasn't bad at all, just a few days which were a bit misty. In other years, it may happen that the first flights into Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai cannot land due to low visibility. This usually clears up at least a bit during the day. Outside these maybe 2 months, the air is perfect in CNX, in particular when you compare it with BKK or any major city in China. For me no reason to worry or complain.

I love the air in Chiang Mai! And I am so looking forward to the weather there during winter.  I live in a highly congested city with year round sun so I wouldnt be able to handle Canada-esque winter but the 20 odd degrees chiang mai gets during winter is lovely. I absolutely love the mountaineous landscape view too. Cant wait for my next trip there.

[perspectiff]

9 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

 

Read the book "Why not to retire in Thailand" by "The Blether."  I read it and I still retired here but at least it is the short way to learn all the potential pitfalls, loud and clear. It is on Amazon and Kindle. Rule No 1.  Rent don't buy for at least the first few years, If ever!!!  There are so many things that can go wrong for a falang property owner.

Thanks for the heads up. Certainly sounds like a must-read. Though every country has its issues even for developed countries, the charm of Thailand certainly allures me still.

[perspectiff]

5 hours ago, Guy1 said:

Nice to see a fellow singaporean posting here in thaivisa forum.

 

I lived in Bkk for almost 10 years. I have my own business here, makes about 100-200k profit per month

 

My expenses:

Rent: 8000 (western style condo) better than HDB flat

Food: 500 x 30= 15000 per mth

Hp bill: 1200

Water: 300

Electrcity: 2000

Transport: 3500 approx

Other expenses: 10-15k

 The rest of the money i saved up.

Depends on your life style, the savings and lower expenses, ease of doing business, non-restrictive life is something i cant get back in singapore

Hello there fellow singaporean! I didn't expect to find another one here too haha.

Good to know you are making more than decent money from your business. It's something I was considering myself so that I can move here quicker. On a sidenote, are you comfortable enough to drop me a PM on the business you are currently operating there? Of course, its entirely up to you =).

[Ahab]

17 hours ago, perspectiff said:

Thanks everyone for your generous inputs. I understand the amount is dependent on your choice of lifestyle. Im just curious how most local Thai's are able to survive on an average wage of 30k, 

Im not too concerned about healthcare since I will likely retain citizenship with my native country since im only a couple of hours flight from home and retain its healthcare benefits. I will probably get a travel insurance just in case though.

 

It seems on average most of you are spending 60k a month, that works out to around 1700 USD. To be honest it's way more than I had expected. Looks like I will need to plan ahead to generate more passive income or operate some form of business while living there.

Most Thai's survive on much, much less than 30K per month. 30K per month in the vast majority of the country is upper middle class, most live on less than 10K-15K a month and do just fine.

 

You can live on much less than 60K if you eat local food, and don't live in the most expensive cities and tourist locations. If you have to eat western food every night, drink a lot, and enjoy the nightlife you can easily spend more than 60K. It just depends on where you settle (Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket are more expensive), and your wants/needs, but you can get by on much less than 60K. 

[Telly]

Nice, more Singaporean coming out of the woodwork.

I'm just past 40 so not on a retirement visa.

What I'm on is a 1 year ED visa, but it's not to study Thai. On average you can renew the ED visa 4 times.

If you've been staying hdb then no problems with a studio if there's 1 of you or a 1 bedroom if there's 2 of you.

Skip the cooking, it's just easier and cheaper to eat out. 

Not many shopping centre like SG in CM, there's a big C and Tesco each on the super highway and at Hang Dong.

Don't buy property or vehicle for the first 2 years till you know what you in for.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Telly
Hub change to hdb